In an unexpected development to Friday’s proceedings, Carolina Panthers outside linebacker Brian Burns was not present for practice. The immediate thought for many, of course, is that the absence of the two-time Pro Bowl pass rusher could be linked to Tuesday’s trade deadline.
But head coach Frank Reich put out those potential flames of speculation after the session, stating that Burns was out due to his elbow injury.
“No correlation,” Reich told reporters. “We had a kinda a little thing happen yesterday on a play where he hurt his elbow. Got it checked out. Today, it was still an issue. So, gettin’ further evaluation on that to try to see where we’re at.”
Reich was then asked if this could be a long-term issue for Burns.
“I really don’t have any of that information to this point,” he replied. “I’ve been told there’s a chance he could play, but it just all depends on what the test results show. When you start doin’ MRI’s and x-rays, there’s a wide array of things that can happen.”
Burns has been listed as questionable for Sunday’s contest against the Houston Texans.
The Panthers will already be without a handful of key defenders including cornerback Jaycee Horn, linebacker Shaq Thompson, safeties Vonn Bell and Jeremy Chinn and fellow outside linebacker Yetur Gross-Matos.
